Artist Talk: Terri Warpinski and David Graham -- Creators of newARTSpace

Creators of newARTSpace: Terri Warpinski and David Graham

    On Wednesday, March 1, 2023. I attend an artist talk at the Wriston Auditorium. There were two artists named Terri Warpinski and David Graham who were presenting as duo artists to speak about their years (collectively 75 years) of artistry specifically the medium of photography. They started the talk with introductions and a look into their artistic careers beginning with Terri Warpinski whose awards and accomplishments alone make her stand out amongst the crowd with her being distinguished as a Fulbright Senior Fellow to Isreal in 2000-2001, as Professor Emerita of Art in 201 after a 32-year-career teaching at the University of Oregon and was the Honored Educator of the Society for Photographic Education at their international conference in Philadelphia in 2018. Although Warpinski has had a very eventful life as an international photographer, her start within the world of photography was in college when she started out within being a drawer but slowly learned how to incorporate and merge those skills with photography (with inspiration from Robert Rausenberge and Betty Hahn) she starting out with works such as The Myth of Me, IV, 1982 which she produced using mixed media of charcoal and photography. The pattern within the focus of her work was femininity, mythology, and the idea of self, and she has ventured into nature/ environment, archeology, and historical landscapes. She wants her work to ask the question of how human activity can impact the surrounding landscapes. 

    The next presenter was David Graham, who is a photographer as well but his choice of style is still life. Graham's work mainly on photos for magazine stories which pointed out has mainly been about murder stories. Still, many of his images use vivid color palettes, juxtaposing shots, and various compositions to create different eye-catching shots. I think one of my favorite takeaways from the talk was when Graham said, “ I’ve never given a speech like this other ones have been chronological and this one is not.” In 2021, Graham picked up an Italian magazine called ‘Eyeshot’ and signed 1000 copies within 24 hours a book that houses a collection of his photos. 

    I believe Warpinksi and Graham relate to our course through their project called newARTSpace which is a non-commercial artist-driven exhibition, event, and studio space that is aimed to help artists find ways to explore their abilities as well as help them see a profit within their work. Since they are a non-commercial art space they give 100% of the profits to the artists, unlike commercial or non-profit studio spaces. This action relates to the course in that it is a revolutionary idea that is rarely heard in the art world and can have a great impact on the artists and the community as a whole.

Photos:

Surveillance[Above And Below], 2012 - Terri Warpinski: From her famous Surface Tension where she traveled and photographed the borders of the US/Mexico, Isreal/Palestine, and Berlin.  

Why Mow? The Case Against Lawns by the New York Times Magazine, photo taken by David Graham: This is one of his many assignments for magazines from the Philadelphia Inquirer to the New York Times.